GENEVA HOUSING AUTHORITY FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY PROGRAM

Consulting Report

Amy PinderSarah Gummoe

Cassandra KounasTatiana Polanco

What is the Family-Self Sufficiency Program?

Run by the Geneva Housing AuthorityParticipation optionalService for low-income families

Subsidized Housing Educational and Vocational Training Escrow Account Employment Incentives

Variety of housing options Public Housing Housing Choice Voucher

Research Problem

Why are participation rates low?

What can GHA do to recruit eligible families?

Family Self-Sufficiency Participation Rates

Literature Review

The Self-Sufficiency Project at 36 Months: Effects on Children of a Program that Increased Parental Employment and Income (Pamela Morris & Charles Michalopoulos)

Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (Sandra Newman & Joseph Harkness)

Family Self-Sufficiency Programs: An Evaluation of Program Benefits and Factors Affecting Participants’ Success (Jerry Anthony)

Does Urban Public Housing Diminish the Social Capital and Labor Force Activity of Its Tenants? (David Reingold, Gregg Van Ryzin, & Michelle Ronda)

Our Hypotheses

Low participation rates can be contributed to lack of awareness on the part of eligible families. Possible lack of understanding about program

components and enrollment process

Public Outreach may be inefficient/limited.

Cultural and Language barriers may play a role.

Research Method

In-Depth Interviews Topics of Interest:

Demographics Attitudes/Perceptions of FSS

Timeframe: 5 weeks Goal: 40 interviews

30 eligible non-participants 10 current participants

Completed: 17 interviews 42.5% response rate

Current ParticipantsCurrent Participants Eligible Non-ParticipantsEligible Non-Participants

1) How did you find out about the FSS program?     a) Can you describe how you decided to join FSS? b) How long have you been participating?

c) Do you know anyone who is in/has been enrolled in the program?

3) The main component of the FSS program is an escrow savings account.

a) Do you currently have a personal savings account?

1) Do you add to your savings account regularly?

b) If not, are you interested in starting and building a savings account? (If not, why not?)

Sample Interview Questions

Project Deliverables

Analysis between participating and non-participating eligible families

Provide suggestions for program improvement

Problems We Encountered

Response Rate

Sample Size

Qualitative Weaknesses

THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS WERE NOT AWARE OF THE FSS PROGRAM

Respondents misunderstood program components

Section 8 enrollment process overwhelms eligible FSS adults

General lack of clarity about program and how to get information about it

Preliminary Findings

OUTREACH More personal contact between families and GHA

Hire case managers (ideally multi-lingual) Program graduates as mentors to new members Individualized support in identifying and achieving goals

ENHANCE SERVICES Financial counseling Job counseling and training Transportation services Childcare services

BETTER ACCESS TO INFORMATION Update website with user-friendly language and multi lingual

options Generate promotional materials that target a broader age

spectrum

Preliminary Recommendations

Questions?